A Very Special Winter
by PotatoCakes
Summary: Number one on Carlisle's list of things that seemed like a bad idea? Adopting a human child. Winter has been abused and it is now up to the Cullens to show her what being a family and feeling loved means.
1. Chapter 1

Carlisle Cullen had never intended to adopt a human child—and he had certainly completely crossed it off his list after his vampirehood. However he had also never expected to meet a very special little girl. But by the grace of some higher power, Caroline Winter Evans wandered into the Cullens' lives.


	2. Chapter 2

Tuesday was a pretty quiet day at the hospital. Carlisle found himself sitting at the nurse's station, legs crossed and fingers tapping away on the desktop. There were only two patients in the ICU and the emergency room was virtually empty. And so there Carlisle sat, waiting for something—anything—to do.

"Um, Dr. Cullen?" asked a timid young nurse, pressing the phone to her chest, making it clear she was talking to Carlisle and not whoever was on the line.

"Hmm?"

"The ER is paging you. A little girl is on the way in an ambulance. They're bringing her into trauma."

"Car accident?"

The nurse shook her head. "They didn't say."

"Tell them I'm on my down." Carlisle stood up and briskly walked towards the elevators. He hated the pediatric cases. It was miserable to watch the children fight for their lives, their parents standing helplessly alongside them.

As Carlisle stepped off the elevators, the smell of fresh blood hit him like a slap in the face. He was immediately grateful that he had such strong control of his cravings.

Carlisle caught up with the paramedics as they wheeled a stretcher in. "Young female, possible internal bleeding and broken bones."

"What in God's name happened to her?!"

The paramedic shook her head. "Neighbor called it in. She was driving home and saw her lying outside."

"Name?" Carlisle asked.

"No idea. There was no way for identification."

"Ok, please take her to trauma one. Esther!" Carlisle called for the nurse. "I'm going to need a blood typing please. She's lost a lot of blood."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks to my readers for….well, reading.

minako366: here's your longer chapter : -) thanks for reviewing!

Carlisle flicked his bloody gloves into the biological waste bin. The little girl had a hard road ahead of her, but she was going to be alright with a little bit of time. Upon examining her, Carlisle had discovered many of the wounds were actually older and already in the middle of the healing process—which of course implied that whatever had happened was not a onetime incident and therefore likely not accidental.

Within a few hours after the child was brought in, she had been identified as Caroline Winter Evans, the only child of a Mr. William Thomas Evans. And after talking with the Evans' neighbor for a few minutes, it had been deemed appropriate to page a social worker. This child's safety was clearly compromised.

Carlisle sighed as he glanced back at the little Evans girl who was still waiting to be brought up to an inpatient room. These situations were never fair. And absolutely nothing angered him more then a situation where a child's welfare was endangered. Children were small, helpless creatures. They could be preyed upon by their own species. Nothing made Carlisle sicker.

Esther the nurse watched Dr. Cullen for a moment as he looked wistfully at the little girl. "It's not fair is it?" she asked as she joined him in the doorway. "She goes through all this and there won't even be anyone there when she wakes up. A nurse or a doctor maybe, but no mother."

And all it took was that one word. An idea formed in Carlisle's brain before he even had time to formulate a response to Esther's statement. He shot Esther his standard gentle smile. "If you wouldn't mind making sure she gets situated in the PICU, I have a few things I should attend to."

"Of course, Dr. Cullen. Go right ahead."

He nodded and smiled again, then strode off to a more secluded area. He flipped open his cell-phone and dialed the now familiar number. After several rings, the recipient picked up. "Hello, Esme."

Esme responded in her soft, smooth voice. "Oh, hello, Carlisle. How is your day?"

"Wonderful, darling. But I do have a favor to ask of you."

"Of course."

Carlisle carefully explained the basics of the situation to his wife. The girl was badly injured, had no family, at least none that deserved to be anywhere near her, and she would ultimately be waking up alone in an unfamiliar environment. And then he asked. "Esme, would you mind coming to the hospital so she won't have to be alone?"

And of course Esme, the compassion maternal figurehead of the Cullen family, wanted nothing more than to be there for a child in need. She would be there within the hour, she announced before quickly hanging up.

Esme slipped into the PICU as discreetly as possible and searched for her husband. "Esme!" Carlisle whispered in a voice only another vampire could have heard. "Over here!"

Esme followed his voice to the door of a private room. She scanned the nametag on the wooden door. "Caroline W. Evans?" Carlisle nodded and watched sadly as his wife's eyes widened in shock at the sight of the little girl. "Oh the poor dear! I can't believe a man could do this to his own daughter!" She sat in the chair beside the hospital bed and reached for the child's right hand. It felt so small and warm within the cool palm of her own. "Carlisle?"

Carlisle reached out to stroke his wife's hair. "I know. But she is safe now. No one here is going to hurt her."

"I just can't imagine…her own father. When I was a human..." Esme choked up. "When I was a human, I could have left. I was a grown woman. But she's just a child, she never had a chance."

"But just think, Esme, because of what you went through in your human life, you will be able to help this girl so much. There is a reason for everything. There is a reason I was one of the doctors on emergency call today and a reason I was the one paged."

Esme nodded and leaned her head into her husband's hand. Of course he was right, Carlisle was always right. "When will she wake up?"

"It's hard to tell. Probably in the next few hours. I need to go tend to my patients. Will you be alright here, Esme?"

Esme nodded resolutely. "I will wait until she wakes up. Besides, I have a feeling the children will be getting here as soon as school is done."

"Oh?" Carlisle asked from the doorway. "Did you leave them a note?"

Esme smiled faintly. "No, I did not. But between Alice and Edward, not much gets past those five."

Carlisle chuckled in agreement. "In that case, I am sure you are very right. Please have one of the nurses page me if she wakes up or if there are any other changes."

"Certainly." Esme settled into a pattern of silent waiting. Sure enough, by half past three, two teenagers came flying into the hospital. "Esme!" twirped Alice. "Why are you at the hospital? Oh my!"

"Your father called me. It seems he thought she could use our help."

Alice approached her mother's side. "What happened to her?" she asked curiously. Despite her foresight, the teenage vampire had no idea what had happened in the past.

Esme sighed merely out of habit, because it was of course unnecessary because she required no oxygen. "Her father."

"Her father did this to her?!" Alice exclaimed. Edward, who had posted himself by the doorway, stepped forward and placed his hands on Alice's shoulders to comfort her. She glanced back at her brother appreciatively, but as soon as she turned back to the hospital bed, her eyes narrowed again in fury.

"Alice, dear. Please calm down. We all know it's dangerous for one of us to get angry," Esme reminded her brunette daughter.

"I can control myself," Alice growled somewhat unconvincingly.

Edward's grip on Alice's shoulders tightened. "Alice, if she were to wake up now, the first thing she would see would be anger. Don't you think that might frighten her?"

Alice's face softened. "You're right, Edward. Whether or not I can control myself is irrelevant at the moment."

Just as Alice spoke those words, the child in the hospital bed stirred slightly. Esme glanced over to her son. "Edward, please go get Carlisle. He wanted to be notified of any changes. I believe she is waking up."

Giving his sister's shoulders a final reassuring squeeze, he nodded to Esme and exited the room to search for Carlisle. Esme sighed and watched the standard issue white blanket wrinkle slightly as the child shifted just the tiniest bit.

"Mom?" Alice questioned.

Esme was startled for a few seconds. Although she was in fact their mother, the Cullen children rarely called Esme "Mom."

"Alice, darling, what is it?"

"What's going to happen to her?" It was moments like this that reminded Esme that all although all five of her children frequently acted like adults, their maturity level was frozen at that of a human teenager.

"I don't know," Esme admitted.

"She can't go back to her father!" Alice exclaimed. "She just can't! Carlisle won't let her, will he?"

Esme gestured for Alice to come closer. Alice obliged and slipped into her mother's lap like she would have if she were still a little girl. She wrapped her arms around Esme's neck and leaned into her shoulder. Esme held her daughter close and reassured her. "Your father will do everything in his power to keep that girl safe. You know that, Alice."

Suddenly Alice eyes were filled with images from the future. "You're right, he will," she beamed.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: As always, thanks to my reviewers, minako366 and CharmedandTwilight31!

Alice was still settled in Esme's lap when Carlisle reentered the room. "Hello, ladies. How is our little patient doing? Edward said there had been some changes."

"Oh yes, she moved a little bit, Carlisle."

"Did she? Hmm." Carlisle whipped out a tiny flashlight and began reexamining her. Carlisle's gentle touch on her shoulder caused the girl to shift again. The little girl's eyelashes fluttered softly, opening to reveal crystal blue eyes. Esme felt a sudden flood of affection well up in her chest. "Caroline? Sweetheart, can you hear me? Caroline?" The girl turned her head slowly towards Esme's voice. Her eyes widened. And then she started shrieking. No words, just shrieking.

"Carlisle, do something!" Alice shouted, springing from where she had been comfortably sitting.

Carlisle thought for a few seconds and then shouted down the hall for a nurse. A young woman, dashed into the room breathing heavily. "Dr. Cullen?" she took a second to catch her breath. "Oh my. Do you want me to sedate her?"

"I don't think I have a choice. Just a mild one, Katie. I don't want to knock her out, just calm her down."

Katie quickly filled a syringe with a small dosage of the desired medication. She attempted to inject it into the child's line but found that she was flailing too much. Between the shrieking and the flailing, Katie was struggling. "A little help here?"

Alice reached forward and stilled the girl as gently as possible. "There, there, honey. You're ok." The little girl known as Caroline Winter Evans slowly calmed, until Alice felt her practically go limp under her cool hands.

There was clucking of the tongue from the doorway of the room. Katie and the three Cullens all looked towards the noise. "Winter Evans," the owner of the tongue sighed. She was a middle-aged woman clutching a thick file, her dark blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun. Clearly she was the social worker who had been paged.

Alice looked up curiously. "I thought her name was Caroline."

"It is; it's her first name. And also her mother's name. Winter's mother went missing a few years ago. And as far as I know she has always just been called Winter."

Winter didn't seem to know—or maybe she just didn't care—that everyone in the room was talking about her. Her eyes roamed the room trying to judge the threat level of each individual.

"Winter? Do you remember me? I'm Karen Howard. I'm here to help you. Can you tell me what happened to you?"

Winter just looked at Karen blankly. Karen watched Winter for a few minutes than turned to Carlisle. "Dr. Cullen, I need to get some information and I believe I have some records that may help you."

"Of course, Ms. Howard. Why don't we step outside? My wife and daughter can stay with Winter. Esme, Alice, will that be alright?"

"Yes, Carlisle," Esme spoke for them. "We will keep an eye on her."

Carlisle and Karen walked into the hallway and Esme watched them through the open blinds of the room's window. Carlisle stood, arms crossed, nodding as Karen spoke to him. Esme looked back over at the other two occupants of the room. Alice was hovering hesitantly by the bed not really sure what to do. This was very much unlike the usual Alice. Normally, she was perky and social and always knew what to do. Although it might have helped that she tended know what was going to happen before it actually happened. In this case, Alice knew what was going to happen, she just didn't know how they were going to get there. Alice paused for a second.

"What did you see, darling?" Esme inquired.

"Just now?" Alice asked.

"Yes, I'm sure that whatever you saw earlier can be discussed later."

Alice nodded in agreement. "I just saw Emmett and Rosalie. They're on their way here. They found the note Edward and I left."

"And Jasper?"

"He stayed behind. He wasn't sure he could handle the hospital right now. He needs to hunt first."

Esme nodded in understanding. "Yes, in his case that is probably best. How soon will the others arrive?"

"It shouldn't be long. They took the Porsche. Should we be worried?" Alice had switched the topic of discussion back to Winter.

"Any more than we already are?" Esme smiled at the little girl in an attempt to elicit some sort of positive response from her. Nothing. Winter just blinked at her. "I don't know, Alice. I think we will just have to see. It is going to take time. Social services will have to—"

"She's going to be ours."

"I was afraid you were going to say that. That's what you saw earlier, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was. Why are you afraid? I thought you missed being a mother to a small child."

"Don't misunderstand me, I have always missed being a mother, and you children have been wonderful. And yes, I would love to have another child in the family, an actual child, but we have to think about it logically. We're vampires and she is a human child. We aren't able to give her a normal life."

"But it's still a life," Alice prodded. "She has nothing right now. She has no one. All social services is going to do is stick her in a group home or put her in foster care. At least with us she would have a family."

Esme sighed. "Alice, we don't even know if they are taking her away from her father."

"Oh, they better. That man should never be allowed anywhere near a child ever again."

"I agree, but it is not our place to make that decision. Social services will have to make it."

Alice crossed her arms. "I already know what they are going to decide, Esme. You know that as well as I do."

Esme sighed once again and looked down at Winter, who had fallen asleep after the effects of the medicine had fully hit her. "Let's not get our hearts set on anything before decisions are made and we talk to your father. I'm just feeling like this is not going to turn out well. I don't think we can adopt her."

All of the remaining Cullens excepting Carlisle seemed to have chosen that moment to join their family in the hospital room. "Who are we not adopting?" boomed Emmett's loud, deep voice.

"Oh my," gasped Rosalie in a perfect impression of Alice. "What happened to her?"

Esme and Alice ran through a basic history as Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie listened intently.

"I can't believe it," Rosalie fumed, pacing the room.

"Now, Rose, calm down." Edward himself looked as calm as always. "Just because of what happened to you—l

Rosalie turned on her brother. "Edward Cullen, I swear if you don't stop reading my thoughts!"

"Children!" Esme interjected.

"What is going on in here?" Carlisle asked in s stern voice. Everyone in the room froze and silenced him or herself. "Yes, that is what I thought."

"Alice and I were just explaining Winter's situation to the Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward. And Alice was telling us about what she saw."

Carlisle shot his pixie-like daughter a questioning look. "We're adopting her," she informed him.

"Ah, of course. You are sure that's what you saw, Alice?"

"Positive."

"Is that a possibility?" Rosalie asked.

"Legally, yes. The state has decided that at this point the best course of action is to place her in foster care and thus make her available for adoption. But morally, I don't think it would be appropriate. We're vampires, we can't raise a child to human standards. It's not safe."

"Why not?" Rosalie pressed. "We wouldn't hurt her, you know that."

"There are never any guarantees," reminded Edward.

"Shut up," Emmett muttered. Even he felt like this little girl belonged in their family.

"Edward is right," Carlisle agreed. "There's no guarantee that one of us wouldn't hurt her. Even if we hunted more often…we could hurt her accidentally. Humans are so fragile."

"Other vampires or covens might be attracted to her," Esme added.

"Whose side are you on?" spat Rosalie.

"The child's."

"Well, perhaps I should remind you of everything the child has now. A father who beats her to a pulp, no family to look after her, nowhere to go."

"The Volturri—" Esme added only halfheartedly. She didn't hide the fact that she already cared about Winter very much."

"Are unlikely to find out in her lifetime," Carlisle mused, strumming his fingers on his crossed arms thoughtfully. It was clear that Carlisle's compassion was winning over reason right now. "Allow me to consider everything and speak to Ms. Howard again." He was sure to address his entire family. "Then your mother and I will speak and we will make the decision we believe to be the most beneficial to us all." And then he left the room.


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you seriously considering this, Dr. Cullen?" Karen Howard asked.

And as unlikely as it seemed, Carlisle really was. Deep down he really did believe that this could work out, especially considering just how confident Alice and Rosalie were. There were benefits to having a daughter with the gift of foresight. "Yes." Carlisle nodded.

"I'm not sure that is the best idea. You work a lot of hours, and you and your wife have already adopted five teenagers."

"I assure you my children are all very…mature for their ages."

"Winter has physical disabilities and developmental delays from maltreatment."

"Which is exactly why she needs us. I have three strong sons in addition to myself. We are physically quite capable of helping a disabled child. And I have a wife and two older daughters who are already deeply devoted to this little girl. I have no doubt she will be well-loved and well cared for in my home, Ms. Howard."

"Well, if you believe that to be the case, then I am willing to begin the necessary procedures. I have a feeling this is the best chance at a normal life this girl is going to get."

Carlisle scoffed internally at the phrase "normal life." This girl was certainly not going to be getting a normal life. Perhaps it would be a more emotionally stable life, with a loving family, but it certainly would not be normal. In any case, Ms. Howard was right. The Cullens would probably be Winter's only chance to have a family. How many people really adopted older children? People "Procedures?" Carlisle questioned.

"Background check mainly. After we run that through the system, you will be able to take her home when she is released. Provided it comes up clean, of course. The legal adoption process will take a little bit longer."

Carlisle silently thanked his lucky stars that he and Jasper had taken care of paperwork that made it appear as though the entire family were human. Somehow Carlisle figured the discovery of their real birth certificates might put a damper on the whole adoption thing.


	6. Chapter 6

Esme, Alice, and Rosalie looked up at Carlisle expectantly as he entered the room. He nodded a yes to his wife and daughters. Alice leapt out of her chair in excitement and threw her arms around her father's neck. He smiled down at Alice. "Ms. Howard is going to begin the adoption procedures immediately."

"Procedures?" Esme questioned with concern.

"Just a background check and other legalities." He lowered his voice. "Don't worry, Jasper had already taken it upon himself to get our paperwork up to date." The three women breathed out a sigh of relief. "Now I am going to look in on my other patients. I trust you will take care of our future Cullen here?"

"Of course, Carlisle," Rosalie agreed immediately. He excused himself from the room. Only a few minutes later Winter, who had given into her medication's sedating effects, began to stir again. Alice nudged Rosalie in the ribs and nodded toward their future sister. Winter whimpered in pain and then flinched in fear when she noticed the women in the room.

Rosalie was quick to soothe fears as Winter's eyes crossed hers. "Hi Winter, my name is Rosalie. Do you know where you are?" The little girl didn't respond, she just stared at Rosalie suspiciously. "You're at the hospital so the doctors can help you get better. This is my mother and my sister, Alice. My father is a doctor here. He's going to take care of you." Winter seemed calmed by Rosalie's gentle voice.

"We won't hurt you," Alice chimed in, reaching her arm out for Winter to see, almost as if she were allowing a dog to sniff her hand. Rosalie would have doubted Alice's actions had she not known her sister had the gift of foresight. Sure enough, Winter accepted Alice's offer and reached out to touch her hand.

Surprisingly, Winter did not seem stunned by the cool, stony texture of a vampire's skin. In fact it was almost as if she took it as a sign Alice was different. "They're the same as I am. See." Alice gestured to Esme and Rosalie. Both offered their hands. Winter tentatively pressed her warm soft fingertips against the backs of the women's hands. She withdrew her hand seemingly satisfied that these women wouldn't hurt her.

Alice gazed off into space; her mother and older sister recognized it as a sign she was having a vision. "Alice?" Esme questioned.

"Carlisle is on his way. But he's going to frighten her." Alice sat on the edge of the bed, prepared to soothe Winter if and when the need arose.

Carlisle poked his head into the room. "How is our little friend doing?"

Sure enough, Winter shrunk back into her pillows at the sight of the strange man. She hadn't been conscious enough earlier to recognize him as a doctor now. Alice wrapped her arm around Winter's back, drawing the child into her side. Winter already trusted Alice and seemed to take comfort from this small gesture.

"She's up, Carlisle," Esme announced. "Why don't you come meet her?" She stood up and led Carlisle to what they hoped to be their future daughter.

As Carlisle grew closer to the bed, Alice sensed Winter's heartbeat increase. She leaned her head down and whispered, "Don't worry he's just like Esme, Rosalie, and I. That's my father." Winter twitched at the word 'father.' "He's a nice father," Alice added.

Carlisle smiled at Winter in his captivating way. "Hello, sweetheart."

Winter didn't seem to be taking a liking to him. "Let her feel your hand," Rosalie suggested. Carlisle looked quizzically at his wife and then to Alice. Both nodded, so Carlisle reached out his hand as if to shake it in greeting.

Alice took Winter's hand in her own and guided it to Carlisle's. "See, he's safe too. He's just like we are."


	7. Chapter 7

Carlisle sat in a chair by Winter's bed. Esme's chair was right next to his and they were holding hands. "Winter, we have a question we want to ask you, sweetheart," Esme said.

Carlisle leaned forward in his seat. "Winter, would you like to be part of our family? Esme," he gestured to his wife, "and I want to be your parents."

Winter was still tucked into Alice's side. "And I want to be your big sister," Alice whispered into Winter's ear.

"You will be safe with us," Carlisle explained. "No one will ever hurt you again."

Rosalie, who was sitting at the foot of the bed, patted the little girl's legs reassuringly. "We'll take care of you. Forever. How does that sound?"

"You don't have to decide right now," Carlisle said.

"Of course not, sweetheart," Esme added. "You can have as much time as you need. Our boys would like to meet you as well."

Winter looked up at Alice. Alice nodded at her. "My brothers are wonderful. You're going to like them and I know they will love you."

"Emmett and Edward are in the cafeteria. I can ask them to come upstairs now if you would like," Esme told Winter.

The little girl looked at Rosalie. "We'll stay with you," Rosalie assured. "I promise."

Winter looked at Alice now. "Both of us will," Alice agreed.

Carlisle cleared his throat. "I'll go get the boys from downstairs. And I can call Jasper to come meet us here on my way down."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, dear." Esme stood up. "I think I will join you."

It was obvious to both Rosalie and Alice that their parents intended to have a serious conversation outside of the room. The sisters exchanged a quick look. At least that would give the girls a chance to talk to Winter on their own. The bond between sisters was totally different than the relationship between a child and her parents. They planned to capitalize on that. It was important to them that Winter become part of the family; if nothing else they wanted to keep her safe from being hurt in the foster care system.

"We'll be back in a little while, girls," Carlisle informed them. Carlisle and Esme made a subdued exit, shutting the door behind them with a barely audible click. Rosalie scooted up so that Winter was comfortably sandwiched between Rosalie and Alice.

Alice spoke first. "Rose and I want to talk to you, is that alright?"

Alice and Rosalie took Winter's complacent silence as an acquiesce. "We were adopted too," Rosalie told her. "Just like Carlisle and Esme want to adopt you. They take good care of us. I know you don't understand that because no one has ever taken care of you. But they want to take care of you and they will if you let them. And so will Emmett, Edward, Jasper, Alice, and I."

Alice spoke now. "Do you know what it means to have sisters?" Winter gave such a slight nod that it was hardly noticeable. In fact, had Alice not been a vampire, she probably wouldn't have even registered the gesture. "Well, having sisters means never being alone again." And it was safe for Alice to make this assurance because the Cullen family was nearly guaranteed an eternity on earth.

"If you'll let us be your family, you'll have us forever," Rosalie explained. "And we will never let anyone hurt you again."


	8. Chapter 8

Carlisle strode slowly down the hall, his hands clasped together behind his back. "I want her to make the decision, Esme. I know she's only a child and I know legally she doesn't have a say, but I refuse to take that power from her. She has been powerless her whole life."

"I agree. However I think we should begin making arrangements. Alice has already seen Winter's decision. She will be our child."

Carlisle watched his feet as they moved one in front of the other. He glanced up at Esme who was gazing at him with her sparkling eyes. He sighed. "I still have my concerns."

"I'm sure they are valid, Carlisle. We are a family of vampires talking about adopting a human child."

Carlisle shook his head. "I am not concerned that one of us will hurt her. I have confidence that Winter will be safe with our family."

Esme's eyebrows weaved into an expression of confusion. "What are you concerned about?"

"I am concerned about the repercussions of a group of immortals becoming attached to a child who is very mortal; a child who will continue to grow. Winter will grow up. How will our children react to their little sister outgrowing them? How will we react to our daughter surpassing our age? And then…" Carlisle took in a deep breath. "It is inevitable that Winter will leave us."

"Leave us?" Esme questioned.

"Winter is mortal."

"She will die? Oh, Carlisle, we can't try to protect ourselves by not loving her. 'It is better to have love and lost than to have never loved at all,'" Esme quoted.

"But is it truly better to love someone for seventy years and then be left with only memories for century after century."

"Yes, I think it is," Esme said softly. She took Carlisle's hand. "Just think of how wonderful we can make this little girl's seventy years. It isn't just about us. Do you think we could live any better with centuries of guilt after leaving her behind? I think those are our only two choices, Carlisle—guilt or grief? I would prefer grief myself."

"I think we must talk to Alice again."

"Yes," Esme agreed. "Perhaps she is fated to be one of us and this entire conversation is unnecessary."

"Perhaps," Carlisle speculated unconvinced. "Ah, the cafeteria. Let's find Edward and Emmett and wait for Jasper to arrive."


	9. Chapter 9

"You boys wait here," Carlisle told his sons. "I want to talk to Alice before I go in."

"Why can't we go ahead?" Emmett asked curiously.

"Winter is most comfortable with Alice. I feel it would be best that Winter meets you three with Alice at her side."

"Makes sense," Edward agreed.

Jasper looked thoughtful. "Winter is a very strange name."

"So is Jasper," Emmett pointed out.

"No it's not."

"Boys," Esme scolded. "Carlisle, dear, why don't bring Alice out?"

Carlisle poked his head into Winter's hospital room and seconds later she bounced out. "How may I be of service?" Alice joked.

"We would like a little bit of insight into Winter's future, into our future with her," Carlisle informed her.

Alice scrunched up her face. "I can't always get visions on command." But she tried nonetheless. She came out of a vision beaming. "Oh, she will be delightful as she grows up. We're all going to adore her. She develops such a beautiful personality…it's like she's not even the same child." She closed her eyes again. "Oh." She frowned. "Winter won't make the choice. She will never become one of us." She turned to her father. "Is that what you were looking for?"

He nodded and looked contemplative.

"How long?" Esme asked before Carlisle could speak. As much as she kept telling herself that it didn't matter, that it was better to love the girl for only a few decades than never allow herself to love her at all, she really wasn't sure she could bear to grow attached. Losing her son the first time had been so painful, could she really bear to go through it all again?

Alice avoided the question. "Things change," she answered. The whole family watched her carefully as she answered. Vampires had many innate gifts, but for Alice lying was not one of them. Simply watching Alice's body language would give the Cullens the answer they were looking for.

"How long?" Esme repeated.

Alice sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. It wasn't clear. I just know that when it happens…" she took a deep breath. "…when it happens it will be the end."

"Like Alice said," Edward commented. "Things change. Many people will change their minds between now and then. It could completely change the future as Alice sees it. I don't think we should base our decision to adopt this child solely after several visions of a possible future."

Alice shot Edward a grateful look and he smiled in return.

"I concur," Carlisle said finally. "There are far too many variables to reliably determine very far into the future."

"She deserves a family," Esme agreed. "For however so long as she chooses. Even a family as strange as we are."

"We're not strange," Alice said. "We're unique."

"Right." Carlisle smiled. "Unique."

A/N: Just a note, I am really into Starlight right now, so unfortunately for you lovely readers, this story has fallen to low priority. Sorry guys! I haven't forgotten it though, so as chapters get written, chapters will be posted.


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